Beauty and The Beast, and Also Ron Weasley
by SufferingStarlight
Summary: Hermione is distraught because when she comes back from war, her father has been traumatized, and her mother has been killed. Hermione runs away, and accidentally falls into a creepy curse that makes her think she is Belle. Ron comes to save her from The Beast. As the curse gets stronger, she falls deeper into the delusion. Who will get their happily ever after? Ron or the Beast?
1. Prologue

After the events of the war Hermione went back to her parents house, angry. Ron had been too awkward to tell her whether their kiss meant anything or not. She was distraught and lonely. When she reached the house she'd provided for her parents however, something wasn't right. Everything smelled horrific, and most of her parents' possessions were shattered or destroyed. Hermione found her father, bent over the form of her mother. Her mother was long dead, and her father was gaunt and trembling. She'd been killed by a wand, for there were no marks to indicate a deathly wound. Her father screamed at her, attacking her and trying to defend himself against a second wizard intruder. In their struggle she was able to lift the curse she'd placed on him. Her father then collapsed in her arms sobbing. He told her dark wizards had found them. They tortured the couple for information on Hermione's whereabouts. Soon the Death Eaters had realized her parents were cursed, and only the wizard who cast the spell, could break it. They then disposed of Hermione's mother for the fun of it. They'd left Hermione's father, telling him they'd be back, however they must've forgotten because he'd been there weeks. They'd placed a spell on the house so he couldn't leave, and soon he'd run out of food.

Hermione was bereaved, hardly able to handle the consequences of what had happened. So, she'd sent her father to St. Mungos, hoping they could aid with some of the magic side-effects he'd experienced. She didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't want to be in her old home, it reminded her too much of her mother. She'd never even gotten to say goodbye.

She blamed herself for what had happened, and, in very un-Hermione like fashion, she ran away from her problems. Ron was the first to notice she was missing. He looked for her everywhere she would normally be, but unfortunately, he couldn't locate her. Harry told him to leave it, that she'd be back when she felt better, but Ron wasn't so sure.

After several weeks of no Hermione, others began to worry as well. There was no sign of her, and all her things had been left at her house. It didn't look like she'd actually meant to run away, but more like she'd just wanted a day off.

Ron was convinced something dreadful had happened to her. He scrounged together some galleons, and hired a tracker wizard. These wizards were Aurors, trained in the art of magical tracking. He led Ron to a dark forested area, saying Hermione's magic scent left off there, and he couldn't find it anymore.

Ron did not take the Tracker's advice to not go into the dark, unknown woods alone, and marched straight into it. He called Hermione's name over and over. Little did he know she was in deeper magical bind that even he could imagine.


	2. Be Our Guest, Hermione

**A/N: hey everyone, so I loved Beauty and The Beast, I thought Emma did a wonderful job, and everything was so beautiful, I've just always had a bit of an issue with the whole Beauty and the Beast story for two reasons. One, I'm all for the don't love for looks thing, but he literally looks like an ox. This is different than loving someone who may not meet the typical standards of beauty, this is a little too close to beastiality for me. I felt this especially in the new one. It's one thing to see two cartoons get freaky but when it's a real person, and something that looks like an animal, idk it was just making me uncomfortable. So that's reason one. Reason two is it kind of mimics Stockholm syndrome. Even as a kid, watching the cartoon one, I could never really get on board. Like how could you marry someone who had kidnapped your dad, threatened to starve you, and scared you so badly you preferred hungry wolves to him. Like all the "nice" things he did were kinda dumb. Like he gave her the library, but like it was already there. He saved her life, but mostly because he hoped she could break the curse. Everything else was her, she taught him things. She was obsessed with fixing him. That being said I do really enjoy the "Beauty and the Beast" Disney films old and new. They have some of my favorite songs, and I identify with Belle as a nerd who wants adventure and loves books.** ****

 **When I was watching the new one I realized it was kinda the first romantic situation I'd seen Emma in since Harry Potter (unless you count her marriage in Noah, which I don't). I don't know if it was the Beast giving me weird vibes, or my inability to see her love anyone but Rupert Grint, But I was getting like mad at the romantic scenes. When she first came to the castle and was making that rope of fabric, I imagined Ron just floating up to the window. When she was in the ball room dancing, I imagined Ron hiding somewhere, watching in pain, crying because he thought he'd lost her. These mini visions, I guess, triggered into this whole story. I wanted to imagine the story where Ron has to save her from the manipulative Beast since I got so mad at those love scenes. Your probably thinking that it's been a while since the movie released, why didn't you write it sooner. I had forgotten about it until I watched this Jenny Nicholson video on things that don't make sense about Beauty and the Beast. This gave me some new ideas, and some good dialogue. Some of the quotes in here are lifted from her videos.** ****

 **Also, I made this mostly based off the new movie, because that's the one Emma's in, but there's a couple things from the old one since I know it better. Also, I didn't include the whole transporting book thing because I thought that was stupid.**

"Take me instead," she begged the monster, his breath like puffs of smoke in the cold air.

"No! Belle!" Her father shouted.

"I won't leave you here," she responded, voice full of emotion.

"I've lived my life, go on with yours," the small man stated. "The only way you can help me now is to go and live a full life! I won't resent you."

Belle looked in her father's old, grey eyes, so unlike her warm brown ones. Could this statement be true? Would he really not resent her if she left him here to rot in this freezing prison. He had to be lying. There would be some part of him that cursed her name as he shivered on the stone floor, taking his last breaths. She couldn't think for a moment that leaving him here, that saving herself over him, wouldn't have consequences. Consequences. The word struck a chord in her heart. She'd abandoned someone once, and the consequences had been immeasurable. Guilt ate her alive as she struggled to recall the deplorable act that made her feel like she was sinking in quicksand. Nothing came to mind. She searched the recesses of her memory for an event that would cause her such pain and regret, but nothing showed itself. It must just be fear, fear that this beast wouldn't let her take her father's place. Fear that she'd always feel guilt on her conscious.

"I won't let you stay here," Belle said savagely.

"You would sacrifice yourself, for your father?" the monster asked.

"Of course," Belle breathed.

"So be it," he snarled. Belle was picked up and all but thrown into a tower cell. She sobbed, watching from the window as her father was forcibly thrown from the castle. She felt the loss like a ton of bricks to her chest, knowing she would probably never see him again. Her body racked with sobs when the Beast came back.

The Beast and his talking candelabra named Lumiere, and the clock named Cogsworth showed her to a room. The Beast was no more kind than she could expect a monster to be. She was horrified at this entire situation, yet somehow, intrigued.

She let herself weep on the bed. The colors of the duvet had faded in the sunlight that in the morning, she was sure, would pour through the window. She had never been a women of little action, she needed to do something.

"How beautiful!" A voice crooned through the room. Belle jumped half a foot in the air, looking for the source of the noise. She had met the talking candle and clock, could there be more talking furniture? Yes, it turned out, the wardrobe spoke as well. Before she knew it, the room was full of talking furniture, Lumiere and Cogsworth were back, a teapot, and smaller cup entered as well. She was started to feel a little claustrophobic, her gaze never leaving the sight of the window. It was a way out, a way to freedom, but they mustn't know what she was thinking.

Finally, they were gone, they had all left, talking some nonsense about dinner. Belle took the lines and lines of fabric the wardrobe had spewed toward her and began to tie them together. She knew it would take yards of fabric for her to actually escape, and she prayed this was enough. She had to get out, all she could think of was her survival.

At least an hour must have passed without Belle knowing, and she still wasn't completely done with her makeshift rope. A loud knock sounded at the door.

"Just a minute," Belle called, looking nervously toward the window. She didn't know how to hide the evidence of her obvious attempt at an escape. She heard some whispers outside the door.

"Will you join me for dinner?" asked The Beast in a gruff voice.

"You've taken me as your prisoner, and now you want to have dinner with me, are you insane?" Belle demanded, taken so aback by the madness of the request that she forgot about her escape route for just a moment.

"I told you to join me for dinner!" He shouted back, and she could hear his laboured breathing, like that of an enraged bull.

"And I told you no!" Belle stood strong.

"Then go ahead and starve!" The Beast growled. She heard his heavy steps retreating, and he told the servants that if she didn't eat with him, she didn't eat at all. What a controlling monster, but for some reason, she felt no fear. She felt like she'd faced much worse in her life than a selfish Beast. Again, she felt affected by the ghost of a memory. She took a moment to try and remember what it was she was thinking of. Something came in flashes, a face like a snake, dark shadows that made rattling noises, a gaunt woman with lifeless eyes, and then nothing. None of those matched what she remembered as a sunny childhood with her father. She shook the cobwebs from her mind and tied the end of her makeshift rope to the bed. She began tossing the rope of fabric out the window, foot after foot, working its way toward the frozen ground.

Belle turned back to the bed, to make sure the rope was as tight as physically possible. When she turned back toward the window, she almost fell to the floor with shock. In the air, where she had once seen the starry sky, she now saw a man. His face made her head hurt so much she had to sit down. Something about him was so familiar, though she was sure she'd never seen him in her life.

He flew in her window, on a broom no less. He hopped off of the broomstick, and tossed it toward the ground like it didn't matter. He rushed toward her, relief washing over his face in renewed waves every few seconds. She crushed her into a hug, his tall form engulfing her.

His smell, like freshly mown grass, toothpaste, and something else, something so heart wrenchingly familiar, but also foreign, because no matter how hard she tried, she could no place it. His arms weren't particularly muscular, but for that moment she felt safe, but then it all ended. She remembered he was a stranger, someone she didn't know. She pulled herself away from the foreigner harshly.

"Who the Hell are you?" she asked.

"Hermione, cursing, what have they done to you?" The boy asked weakly. That name, it sent shivers down her spine. She didn't know why, but she liked when he called her that name, even if it wasn't her own.

"Who are you?" She repeated.

The boy had bright red hair, it reached past his ears. Freckles covered his body, from head to toe, though there wasn't much of his body to see. He wore black robes. He was tall, and gangly, bony knees and elbows. He wasn't princely handsome, but Belle liked the look of him, she wasn't sure why. His blue eyes seemed kind.

"Hermione," He laughed. "It is me, it is Ron," He stated plainly, as if she should know who that was. She felt a wave of nausea hit her, she needed to stay sitting.

"My name is Belle," She said in confusion.

"Come off it Hermione," Ron chuckled, his eyes crinkled when he laughed.

"Stop calling me that!" Belle demanded, getting angry now. She'd had enough of this weird castle. Was this man even real? Was he just another phantom of this place?

"You really don't know who I am, do you," Ron said, his face draining of what little color it had before.

"I don't, and you need to move because I'm going to escape," Belle said, pushing him out of her way.

"That's my girl," Ron said jovially.

"I'm not your girl!" Belle retorted. "I need to save myself."

"There's an easier way," Ron said, pulling out a stick from his pocket.

"What is that?" Belle asked, wishing she was uninterested, but the simple piece of wood somehow sparked her interest.

"A wand, are you a witch or not?" He said, the words throwing her for a loop. She felt like she was choking for a moment, she saw thick vines, a flash of fire.

"Remember that? First year?" He begged.

"First year?" She asked in wide-eyed confusion.

"Oh, Hermione," Ron touched her face gently.

"Don't touch me, I don't know you," Belle pushed his hand away. He looked like she'd burned him.

"Also, don't call me that, my name isn't-"

"Belle!" called some voice from outside her door.

"Hide!" Belle said, something deep inside her wanting to protect the red-headed boy.

The furniture entered the room. Belle stood in front of the rope tied to her bed. She didn't think they would notice since they seemed pretty focused on her.

"Come, you must be starving," chuckled Lumiere. Belle reluctantly followed, she _was_ hungry after all, and she'd need strength to escape. She couldn't help but take one last look at the room. The broom, and the red-haired gentleman were gone. Had she imagined it all?

After an extensive dinner, with a music performance to boot, Belle had slipped away from the furniture. She felt odd about this whole place. She'd always been naturally curious, so when they'd mentioned the West Wing, she had to know what was there. Maybe she'd find an easier way to escape, a way to defeat the Beast, and keep him away from her, and her father.

She felt the weight of the eyes of the stone gargoyles as she passed under them. Of course, this part of the castle was poorly lit. She felt like she needed something in her hand. She remembered that small stick Ron had showed her. Why had that insignificant branch made her heart stutter.

She saw a door at the end of the long hall. She went toward the doors. She pushed them open tentatively. She listened for sounds of the heavy breathing and the footsteps of her captor, but she couldn't hear a thing. She moved forward, unable to quench her thirst for knowledge. For some odd reason, when she opened the doors, she expected to see a huge dog, one with three heads. That was such an oddly specific fear, that she dismissed it almost immediately.

She passed an old oil painting on the wall, it had been ripped. In the picture was of a young man with piercing blue eyes, and long blonde hair. Belle could not see much of the face, because of the rips in the canvas, but something about the eyes seemed slightly familiar. Not familiar in the way Ron's had. A more recent familiarity, not something dredged up from from a dream, or a dream of a dream.

She felt a warmth in the cold drafty room. She turned and saw a rose, floating in a glass case. The rose was the most magically beautiful she'd ever seen. The colors popped so brightly that they almost blinded her. She couldn't stay away. It seemed to draw her in, closer, and closer. She reached out her finger, wanting to touch the flower.

"What are you doing!" demanded a growling voice. Belle turned and saw the Beast, his curling horns glinting in the moonlight, his eyes piercing through her.

"What did you do to it?" He demanded, crouching over the rose. He looked more like a wild animal now than he ever had before.

"Nothing," Belle said in high-pitched defense.

"Do you realize what you could have done!" He bellowed. He began to roar, snarls ripping through his voice.

"I'm done," gasped Belle. She ran, fear curling through her. She took the stairs two at a time, ignoring the questions from the furniture. She couldn't help them, she was sorry, but she could not stay. She shoved her hood over her head, grabbing Phillipe from the stables.

She pushed Philippe forward through the frigid cold. She could feel her hands freezing into red claws that clutched the reins of the horse. Her breath hurt her lungs, it was too cold. Before she knew what was happening, she was careening to the side, falling to the icy ground. Philippe had been knocked to the ground, and Belle had fallen with him. A large, snarling wolf stood a few feet away from them. Its tongue lolled out of its mouth, a red stripe in a mass of grey fur. Soon more wolves were gathering around her. Phillippe was nickering nastily toward the animals, but he couldn't do much, there were too many.

Belle picked up a large branch, throwing it in the mouth of a snarling wolf before it bit down on Philippe's leg. All she had was this thick branch, and she swung it with all her might, she didn't have any other choice.

"Hermione!" A voice echoed through the forest. To her relief she saw the red-headed man. He was rushing toward her at top speeds. His small stick was out in front of him as though he thought it were a sword. Belle felt a sense of dread drown her heart. This man, and she, were going to die because he thought he had a magic wand.

She watched as he tried to stand in front of her, but something stopped him. He was thrown through the air, spinning as he went. Belle hadn't seen anything touch him, it was as if he'd hit an invisible wall.

A grey monster approached Belle, snarling and growling. The cold stung Belle's cheeks, and she couldn't feel her hands, but she tried to grab another log. Something kept mumbling in the back her mind, odd words like "Stupify", "Confundo", "Sectumsempra", and " _Alarte Ascendare."_ She didn't know where this voice was coming from, but the words made no sense, so she tried again to swing at the wolf with her sad weapon.

The wolf's jaws immediately crushed the log to pieces. The red-haired man was nowhere to be seen, and the wolf had closed in. Belle stiffened, shutting her eyes, and preparing for the pain of the bite. She didn't feel a thing, but she heard a whimper, and a loud roar.

Belle's eyes opened, and she saw The Beast himself, fighting off the horrible creatures. They swarmed around him, trying to swipe at him with their claws, and clamp down with their teeth. They weren't making much progress, but one snuck through The Beast's defenses and bit down hard on The Beasts arm. The Beast howled in pain, hitting the wolf to the side so hard that it didn't get up.

Belle knew she needed to move, but something inside her could not stop watching. She glanced around for Ron, knowing he didn't deserve to freeze to death, but she didn't see anything. She thought his bright hair might stand out in the snow, but all she saw was grey and white. She ran over to Phillippe, she'd have to leave Ron behind, maybe his magic wand had helped him.

She was about to heft herself up on the saddle, but she realized the noises behind her had stopped. She couldn't help her curiosity. She turned to see most of the wolves had retreated, but about three lay dead and bleeding by trees. The Beast was slumped on the ground, breathing heavily, his arm seeping with blood.

Belle felt a twinge of sympathy. He'd saved her life, shouldn't she help him? He'd die out here if he was left alone. The wolves could come back, or he'd freeze. He had kidnapped her, but did he deserve to die? His friends in his castle would be sad, they would blame her. She sighed, and lead Philippe over to the body of The Beast.

"How am I going to get him on you," She asked Phillipe with defeat in her voice.

"Levicorpus," said a voice, but this time, it wasn't in Belle's head, it was out loud.

"Excuse me?" Belle turned to see Ron. He looked no worse for the wear.

" _Levicorpus_ , it's Latin," Ron said. Belle frowned at him, not sure what to think about him.

"Wow, it is so nice to know more than you, even if the reason why is concerning," Ron chuckled, stretching his arms up and folding them behind his head.

"You don't even know me," Belle scoffed. "You don't know what I know."

"Can you apparate inside Hogwarts?" Ron asked suddenly.

"What?" Belle asked in confusion.

"Can you apparate inside Hogwarts?" Ron asked slowly, stepping forward. If Belle didn't know any better, she'd think he was flirting. What a ridiculous man, who would flirt with her in front of another dying man, in the middle of a frozen forest.

"What is a Hogwart?" Belle said at last, having almost no idea what he was on about.

"Ohhhhh, Hermione," Ron let out a deep laugh. "Haven't you ever read 'Hogwarts a History'?" He asked her in a high-pitched voice, obviously a mockery of someone, but Belle didn't know who.

"I don't have time for this," Belle said, putting her hands on her hips. "I have to get him on this horse somehow."

"Levicorpus," Ron said for the third time, but this time his 'wand' was outstretched. Belle was about to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, but The Beast was lifting from the ground. The Beast was levitating like he was as light as a feather. Ron guided The Beasts large body onto the horse. Philippe sagged under the weight, but The Beast was on there.

"Wh-what? How?" Belle demanded.

"You know Hermione, you know," Ron said sadly.

"That's not my name!" Belle felt like pulling her hair out. "If that thing works, why didn't you help with the wolves?"

"I don't know, some magic wouldn't let me. It was like I was hitting a wall. I think I'm not allowed to interfere with the events of this 'story''," Ron said, looking up at the grey sky, and around at the trees.

"What does that mean?" Belle asked.

"I'm not even sure myself," Ron sighed, running a hand through his orange locks.


	3. No One, Argues Like Ron

Back at the castle, Ron had mysteriously disappeared, and Belle was working on healing The Beast's wounds. Belle could not get Ron out of her head, and that odd name he called her, that sounded so right. Ron had said that he didn't think he was supposed to be seen by the rest of the castle, or The Beast for that matter, so he'd left her.

"Ow! That hurts!" The Beast growled.

"Well, if you stopped moving so much, it wouldn't hurt!" Belle snapped back.

"If you hadn't run away, I wouldn't even be hurt," he rumbled.

"I wouldn't have run away if you hadn't frightened me!" Belle rolled her eyes.

"You shouldn't have been in the West Wing!" He shot back, as though this would end the argument.

"You should learn to control your temper!" Belle retorted, and The Beast grunted angrily and turned away from her. She continued to dap at his wound.

"You should get some rest," Belle said, thoroughly done trying to help him when he wouldn't cooperate.

"Thank you ever so much miss," Lumiere said, with a small bow.

"Why do you care for him?" Belle asked the question she'd wanted to know since she'd gotten here.

"We've looked after him since he was young," Mrs. Potts said gently.

"But, he's cursed you, hasn't he? You didn't do anything," Belle tried to explain to them.

Mrs. Potts told her that when The Beast was young, his mother had died. Belle felt a pang of sympathy ring in her heart. Losing a mother could be a very deep wound that often didn't heal to look the same as it did before. She tried to conjure up her mother in her mind, and was surprised to find that she could. She'd been a baby when he mother had died, so why were memories flying through her head at high speed. Her mother playing with her in the bath. Her mother reading stacks of books to her. Her mother jumping back in surprise when she'd seen Belle levitating a teacup. Her mother with her at an odd looking train station. Her mother wrapping her in a protective hug as she laid in a cot in some strange room, a crumpled piece of paper stuck in her hand. She didn't know why she had all these memories, and why in every one her father was not Maurice.

Mrs. Potts continued on about The Beast, and how his father had twisted him, knotted up his kind spirit, and that now he hid behind a hard facade. Belle wasn't sure she believed Mrs. Potts, but there had to be some reason the Beast was the way that he was.

Belle retreated to her room, and immediately heard whistling. She looked toward the window. Ron sat in it, swinging his leg, and fiddling with his wand.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, though she wasn't necessarily unhappy about him being there.

"I'm protecting you, and trying to get you out of this bloody place before that furball eats you," Ron said.

"He won't eat me," Belle rolled her eyes.

"He could, just let him get hungry enough," Ron scoffed.

"Stop it Ronald, he isn't like that," Belle snapped. Though she'd yelled at him, Ron's face had lit up, his cheeks red with happiness.

"You called me Ronald," he said excitedly.

"That is generally the full version of the name Ron," Belle said defensively, crossing her arms and blushing.

"Yeah, but that's always what you call me when you're angry with me," Ron said, getting up and coming over to her.

"I have never called you that before," Belle said.

"Hermione, think, please, if you remember, maybe we can break this curse," Ron said, placing his arms gently on Belle's shoulders. Belle liked feeling his touch. Why did he feel so familiar? Why did she want to melt into his body.

"I don't know you," she whispered. They were now inches apart, and she couldn't take her eyes from his own blue orbs.

"Hogwarts, Hermione, Hogwarts, and Harry, and magic, and Crookshanks, and Volde-" He cut himself off, but then finished the word. "Voldemort."

"None of that means anything to you?" Ron begged, hands tighter on her shoulders now.

The thing was, it did. When he said Hogwarts, she saw a flash of a castle. When he said Harry, she saw round glasses and shaggy black hair, a boy with a heart of gold. When he said magic she was filled with excitement, and when he said Crookshanks she felt warm fur against her skin. When he said that odd name, Voldemort, she felt scared, scared down to her core, but also, triumphant.

She didn't want to feel these things. She wanted to go back to her _real_ life, her life with her father in town. Sure people had made fun of her sometimes, and Gaston was a nightmare, but she'd been happy. She hadn't been a prisoner, or feeling all these foreign things.

"Get away!" she suddenly pushed Ron away with all her might. She didn't like feeling confused. She was smart, she knew how things worked, she didn't like when things didn't add up. He was causing her all these issues. She just wanted to get home, maybe she'd had enough of adventure in the great wide somewhere, she just wanted her father.

"What?" Ron was shocked.

"Go out that window the way you came, and stop talking to me about things I don't care about. I need to focus on breaking this spell. I must save these people, and go back to my father!"

"Your father," Ron reared up. "Is at St. Mungos where you left him, you can go back to him anytime you like."

"Stop!" She shoved her hands over her ears. This was making her head ache so much. She wanted him to stop saying things that made strange feelings swirl in her stomach, and outlandish pictures flash in her mind.

"You make me feel confused, I don't like feeling confused," Belle said plainly.

"I know you don't," Ron said gently. "But Hermione, you need to realize-"

"No, I don't need to realize anything, I'm Belle, not Hermione, I hope you find who you're looking for, but it isn't me," Belle said.

"I'll leave you for the night," Ron said softly. He hopped on the broom he'd propped in the corner, and flew out the window. Belle couldn't imagine where he was going to sleep. She tried not to care.

Belle laid down to go to sleep. It was a restless sleep.

Over the next couple days, Belle took care of The Beast, and was finding that he was different than she'd imagined. Ron didn't show up too often, only when she was alone in her room. Belle had the presence of mind to have the talking wardrobe removed from her room, it was just too odd to have something alive beside her bed constantly.

"He can actually be sweet when he wants to," Belle sighed, staring at The Beasts body in the bed. She was whispering these thoughts to Cogsworth.

"Of course he can, we raised him after all, he just needs a little help getting there," Cogsworth chuckled.

"Isn't there anyway I can help with this curse?" Belle asked.

"Well of course there is," Cogsworth began, but Lumiere and Mrs. Potts cut him off.

"It isn't for you to worry about my dear, it is just nice to have you here," Mrs. Potts said sweetly.

"Is it horrible to be furniture?" Belle asked.

"Et es not zat bad, sometimes it es fun," Lumiere said, playfully spinning Fifi around with a boyish grin.

"I don't think I've heard of a human becoming furniture, though once I did see a rat turned into a goblet," Belle chuckled, and the furniture looked at each other worriedly. "I heard someone say once they saw an old man disguise himself as a chair, but I can't..remember..who," Belle trailed off, trying hard to recall this memory.

She remembered a dysfunctional house, almost falling over, sitting with Ron, and another boy in a room. They were talking very seriously about something. Something to do with potions, and slugs maybe? Belle remembered feeling anxious, but also safe, and enjoying the feeling of the skin of Ron's leg rubbing against her own.

"I-I need to go to my room," Belle breathed, and rushed off. Belle reached her room, and sucked air in and out of her lungs. She put her head between her legs, mumbling to herself.

"I don't know him, I don't know him. I am me, I am Belle," she mumbled. She had never thought she'd feel this way, like her mind was being torn apart. Why did she have these memories that didn't belong to her, why did she feel like she was living a lie one moment, and then the next felt like that other life was a lie. Why was she having these thoughts if she really wasn't from somewhere else, why would Ron lie to her? What could he gain? How could he come up with such an elaborate lie, unless, it wasn't a lie. No, this was too insane to even think about.

She heard a hum from her room. She squeezed her eyes shut, maybe it was just another figment of her imagination. The song was familiar, but she couldn't place it. She plugged her ears shut, but knew it wouldn't go away. She could already tell it was Ron, his off tune humming was a tell tale sign.

"What's that song?" Belle finally asked, feeling as though she might burst into tears.

"Weasley is our King," Ron replied, and suddenly he was beside her.

"How would I have known it?" she asked, wondering if he had an answer for everything.

"They used to sing it during my Quidditch games," Ron shrugged, as if it didn't matter, but she could tell it was a fond memory.

"What's Quidditch?" her voice broke. She began to cry, she wasn't sure why, everything was so overwhelming.

"Oh, Hermione, it's okay," Ron said awkwardly, and put his arm around her. She let him, just this once, and leaned into him.

"It isn't, I don't know what is going on, you just show up here, and tell me all these things that sound familiar, but confuse the Hell out of me," She said putting her head in her hands. "I feel like I've always known exactly who I am, but now.." She trailed off.

"That's good, Hermione, that's excellent, that means the curse hasn't taken full effect," Ron said.

"What?" Belle demanded. "That's your response?"

"Look, I've been trying to figure this out as hard as I can, I think I need to find the Witch who made the original spell. I keep wanting to ask you about it, you were always so good at figuring things out," Ron tried to reach out a hand to touch her face, but Belle swatted him away.

"That isn't comforting at all, you're supposed to tell me I'll figure it out, that I'll fit in, I'll find what I'm looking for-"

"I won't say that because this life isn't real!" Ron said exasperated as if he was explaining something simple to a dim witted hamster.

"I'm leaving, I can't be around you right now," Belle said.

"Please, Hermione," Ron begged.

"I really can't deal with this right now, and The Beast needs his medicine anyway," Belle got up.

"Fine, I hope your day goes well," Ron shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Belle's heart skipped a beat. This boy was so different from the Beast, so much less forceful and more accommodating.

Belle had to put this out of her head as she left to go see The Beast. She applied some of the medicated ointment to his arm. As she did this they discussed literature. The Beast began to quote Shakespeare. Belle felt her her cheeks grow warm as he looked into her eyes and spoke those words.

"You know, there's so much better literature than Shakespeare," The Beast said gruffly.

"Oh?" Belle said indignantly. "Like what?" She demanded.

"Follow me," He said, a secret smile on his face.

She followed him to a room, and he threw open the doors. He was talking about something, but she couldn't hear him. She in was in a room, filled from floor to ceiling, with books. So many books. She felt as though she had died and gone to heaven. There was every subject, every color, every length one could imagine. She felt tears fill her eyes.

"It is beautiful, it's so wonderfully lovely I can hardly take it," Belle spun around the room, feeling chills run down her arms.

"Yes, I suppose it is," The Beast nodded, looking around with the air of someone who was used to grandeur and excellence.

"Well, if you like it so much, it's yours," The Beast said simply. Belle felt her heart lurch to a stop. She could not believe her ears.

"Have you really read all these books?" She asked before he left.

"Not all of them, some of them are in Greek," He shrugged. Belle took a moment to register what had just happened, and then she giggled.

"Did you just make a joke? Are you making jokes now?" Belle asked with a chuckle.

"Maybe," he smirked, and left. Belle covered her mouth and gasped, ready to choose her first book.

After some reading, she had dinner with The Beast. He was a bit uncultured, but he was a project she would like to undertake. Though his responses were sometimes rude, she knew underneath there was a kind heart. That night they went on a walk together, and for some reason, Belle wished he would take her hand. She was starting to feel affectionate towards this man she'd assumed was a monster. She showed him how to be gentle, how to not come off so… beastly.

When she went back to her room that night she felt like her heart was full. There was no confusion in her mind. Her day had been great, and she didn't want to think about anything else.

"You're here aren't you," Belle sighed as she came in the door. She'd started to be able to sense Ron's presence. Sure enough, he was there, hiding behind the curtains.

"Why are you always by the window?" Belle asked as she removed her red cloak.

"I have to or I feel insane, the magic here is so thick, it is like it is choking me, sitting by the window reminds me there's a way out,"

"Don't you _do_ magic?" she questioned with an eye roll. "How can the magic be overwhelming you if you are magic?"

"It's not good magic, it isn't like Hogwarts. That magic, it's like coming home, like a big hug, but here…." He gazed wistfully out the window. "It is dark, I know it, the magic feels like how those Horcruxes felt."

"Hor-crux," she tried the word out, and almost choked as she felt pain in her body. The cup, the diary, the locket, the ring, the diadem, the snake, the boy. She clenched her eyes shut, and forced the feelings out of her body. She could ignore these, they weren't real. She had to control these episodes if she wanted a happily ever after.

"Why don't you leave then?" she suggested.

"I can't, I mean, I'm forced to stay here," He admitted.

"What?" Belle asked.

"This place, it has a heavy curse on it, it is the kind that sucks you in and keeps you there. I can't leave anymore than you can, until I break it, until _we_ break it, we can't leave," Ron said.

"I don't believe you," She said simply. Ron ignored her.

"Plus, I left you once, I'm never doing it again," he said solemnly, holding her gaze intently. She bit her lip nervously, he seemed so genuine. She had no trouble believing he truly thought he was there to save her, _she_ just did not believe it.

"Whatever that monster is, he's holding you here, he's the cause of this," Ron continued.

"He's not a monster," Belle whipped toward Ron, eyes flashing.

"He is, he's holding you here against your will, he literally has horns Hermione," Ron said.

"You are just judging him by his looks, that is offensive," Belle snarled.

"He scared you so much you decided you'd rather face wolves than him, he has lied to you, threatened to starve you, he's holding you hostage," Ron said, slamming his hand down on the desk beside him.

"He didn't know me-"

"Hermione! You shouldn't treat anyone like that whether you know them or not," Ron said in exasperation, ears turning red with frustration.

"He gave me a library, he cares for me," Belle said, her voice sounded like she was begging, but she didn't know why she cared what this boy thought.

"Ha!" Ron barked out a laugh.

"What?" Hermione demanded.

"He gave me a library," Ron mimicked. "He didn't _give_ you anything. You are a hostage in this place, what was he going to do? Forbid you from roaming the place you have to now live in?" Ron challenged.

"I don't-" Belle couldn't think.

"Oh wait, he already did that didn't he? When he chased you out of here, terrifying the living daylights out of you. He already said you could go anywhere in the castle, but the West Wing, so you already had access to the library. You can't give someone a room in a house they already live in," Ron explained. Belle hated that he was making sense, hated that he was ruining this for her. Who was he to ruin this adventure for her? He was a nobody.

"It was the gesture that counted," Belle tried to explain.

"You are just continuing to dance around the main issue, which is that you are his prisoner Hermione!" Ron was all but screaming now. Belle lurched back as though she'd been hit, but Ron was on a roll.

"You are a captive, this is stockholm syndrome Hermione, I always thought you were smarter than that. You're just being foolish," Ron continued. Belle bristled at those words. Insults to her intelligence were always the hardest for her to bare, even though she knew she was smart. She didn't know what it was, why she always had to be the best. What Ron was saying hurt, and she wanted to hex him… no that wasn't the right word, how would she hex him? She wanted to hit him, that must've been what she was thinking.

"You are insufferable!" She screamed as her eyes filled with tears.

"Hermione, I'm just trying to-" Ron tried to say something, but Belle wasn't listening.

"Out! Get out!" She screeched.

"Fine! I'll leave, because, I, unlike him, will not treat you like a caged animal. I will respect your decision," Ron snapped, and flew out the window. Belle dropped to the floor and began to sob. She didn't want the drama that Ron brought, and yet she didn't want him to leave her completely alone, but she didn't know why.


	4. True, That He's No Prince Charming

A/N: Hey, just mentioning it again, you should def check out Jenny Nicholson on youtube. She's cool, and gave me a lot of ideas for this chapter. Also I feel like Ron is a bit OOC in this chapter, I know he's emotional and dramatic, but he isn't shown to be much of a crier in the books. However, I feel like I can give myself a bit of a break because the War most likely changed him and made him more emotionally vunerable. Especially so soon afterward.

Ron didn't show himself for the next week or so. Belle missed him ever so slightly, but her days were filled with romance novels, lessons in edicate, snowball fights, intimate talks, and feelings she never thought she'd have for The Beast.

He was sweet and kind, and she felt her heart flutter when she was around him. She didn't mind his looks. She thought he had his own special beauty. He was so accommodating as well, anything she wanted to do, he would try it. Like tonight, they were holding a dance in the ballroom. She was excited to dress up, to feel elegant.

The furniture helped her get ready. The dress was sunshine yellow, and so beautiful. Her normally frizzy hair was fixed into elegant curls. As she got ready she got a sense of deja vu. Every day since she'd asked Ron to leave she'd pushed those odd feelings down till they stopped haunting her. This was the first time in a while she'd had a moment like this.

"Go on dear," Mrs. Potts said gently as she nudged Belle towards the door to the ballroom.

"I'm nervous," she said, surprised by her omission. Generally, it was he who didn't know what was going on, or how to act in a situation. This time, it was her fingers that shook with nerves, and she who was anxious. She wanted to be close to him.

The lights were perfect, the music coming to a swell at the right time. Belle's heart was thumping hard against her chest, and she could feel his heart beat as well. She stared in his eyes, and saw a future, she saw love. He spun her around and she was in a different world. But then, as he dipped her, she saw something from the corner of her eye. In the rafters, on a broom, she saw Ron, just for a second, and then he was gone.

She couldn't focus on the dance the same way, even though she felt dizzyingly happy, Ron stayed in the back of her mind. She asked to go to the powder room before retreating to the balcony with The Beast. As she walked to the bathroom, she heard crying. It was coming from one of the many empty bedrooms.

Belle pushed open the door. Inside she saw Ron on the floor, sobbing into his hands, beside him sat a filmy cloth, that looked almost like water encased in cloth. Where it laid on his leg, his leg wasn't showing, instead it showed the floor. It was like cloth had made his leg disappear. This must be how he seemed to blink in and out of rooms so instantly.

"Ron," She said gently, kneeling on the floor.

"Hermione," he looked up, tears still spilling down his face, eyes red rimmed and depressed.

"What is the matter," She couldn't help but feel something for this miserable boy.

"It is hard, to see you, with him, it just," he broke off because his voice gave out.

"Why is it so difficult for you to accept that I belong here, that I…...love him," she hadn't even admitted this to herself, this was the first time she'd said it aloud.

"You, you love him?" Ron asked.

"I think I do," Belle smiled.

"No!" Ron wailed. "Hermione snap out of it, this is bad."

"What is your problem," Belle demanded.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry your dad is sick, and your mom is gone, but you can't just live in a different reality. This may seem selfish, but I need you Hermione. After everything we've been through, I need you, after the war, and Lupin, and Tonks, and Fred-"

He had to stop again, and Belle's heart strings had been plucked. She placed a hand on Ron's arm.

"It will be okay, you'll find someone else," She said gently.

"I don't want someone else!" He raged.

"It has been you, and only you since fourth year, Hell probably since the moment I met you, but I was too stupid to notice. Lavender was nothing! Just like everything is without you, nothing. Nothing is worth anything if you aren't there."

He was clutching her hands, looking into her eyes. He was so ernest, and to be honest Belle felt a glimmer of something. The name Lavender enraged her, but the other words brought her joy, but she couldn't be sure why.

"Don't you remember any of it?" He whispered.

"I don't," Belle murmured.

"First year, when we met on the Hogwarts Express, you told me I had dirt on my nose. Second year when you got petrified, and I was so damn scared, I couldn't sleep, worrying that you wouldn't wake up. Third year you were brilliant, you saved Sirius, and bloody Peter Pettigrew got away."

"I don't remember," Belle answered, but she was leaning in closer, the words were intoxicating. She wanted to hear more, these stories enthralled her though they were such short descriptions.

"But go on," she nodded. Ron let his lips quirk up into a quick smile, before it fell back into its broken state.

"Fourth year I was so bloody stupid. The moment I heard about the Yule Ball I should have run to you, and begged you to go with me. Maybe then, this would not have happened. Fifth year, Harry was having so many issues, and we didn't know what to do, we stayed up hours and hours to talk. You were so scared, and so was I, but we were there for one another."

"I don't remember," Belle breathed, moving even closer.

"I think you do," Ron whispered. "I think you remember sixth year, and what an ass I was," he laughed, and Belle couldn't help but smile. "I was so stupid to date Lavender, when you were there. I've never stopped regretting it. Don't you remember Dumbledore, and how everything went downhill from there? The Hallows, the Horcruxes, the camping, when I was an idiot for the billionth time, and left."

"I….don't remember," Belle continued to lie, because she did, ever so slightly. She remembered the feelings. As he brought up each scenario, Belle felt a strong emotion linked to each. She felt the fear, the anger, the love.

"D-don't you remember the Basilisk fangs?" he asked ever so slowly.

"'Mione, do you remember this?" He moved closer, but Belle was reeling. The nickname had hit her straight in the heart like an arrow. Suddenly, she was seeing Ron falling off a large chess piece, and running towards him,now she was sleuthing about the Chamber of Secrets with him, she saw him with a shattered leg, and she was filled with worry. He yelling at her at the Yule Ball, angry that she hadn't chosen him, when he hadn't had the guts to ask her. She saw him with dark circles under his eyes as they went on Prefect rounds. She was seeing him in the hospital, mumbling her name in his sleep. She was seeing him talking about saving the house elves, and she was feeling more love for him then she'd ever felt."

"Call me that again," She begged, only inches away from his lips now.

"'Mione, I lo-"

"Belle! Belle, are you almost done?" The Beast sounded impatient, and Belle jerked back from Ron. She remembered where she was, and what was happening. She was in love with The Beast.

"Hermione," Ron grabbed her arm as she went to stand up.

"I don't know you!" She snapped. "I have to go to him!"

"What is so amazing about him!" Ron exploded. "Huh, what makes him worth all of this."

"He is different from anyone I've ever met. He's my adventure."

"You mean your project," Ron stabbed a finger toward her. "You think you can fix him, but he will always be a monster Hermione."

"He isn't a monster!"

"Oh, really?" Ron smirked cruelly. "Let's see, how is Mr. Perfect better than anyone else?" He seemed like he was setting her up for something.

"He's better than that terrible Gaston, he-"

"A-ha!" She could tell this was the answer he had expected, and wanted. "Let's look at the actions of the Beast compared to Gaston. Hmmm, they both are egocentric men who are obsessed with looks," Ron pointed out.

"He isn't like that anymore," Belle said defensively.

"They both are big brutes who need your help to become anywhere near civil. Who knows, maybe if you'd spent as much time with Gaston he'd be able to eat normally from a bowl as well," Ron quipped cruelly.

"That's not fair, he's been living as a-"

"Animal? I know that's why this is so sick. Hermione! He is the reason all these people are under a curse, and is he even trying to lift it?"

"I don't know, he won't tell me what will lift it!" She shot back.

"Because he doesn't respect you, you are his play thing that he has manipulated. You are so smart Hermione, this is a insult to your intelligence, that you can't see how he clearly has you wrapped around his bloody claw."

"Stop it! Stop it, he is kind to me, I fell for him because of that kindness!" She tried to fight back, but none of her arguments seemed as valid as his.

"Kindness doesn't come at the price of freedom," Ron said quietly. "If this were a different situation, and you fell for someone else, I'd fight for you, yeah, but ultimately, I'd let you make your own decision. Hermione, this isn't your own decision, you are being tricked. There is some serious dark magic here, and you can't even remember your own name."

"I don't ever want to see you again, I hate you Ronald Weasley," She snapped, beginning to walk away.

"Also, one similarity I forgot to mention. Both Gaston _and_ The Beast imprisoned your dear, fake, father, Maurice."

"What!" Belle stopped and whipped around. "Gaston never-"

"Things happened while you were playing house with that monster, your father is suffering."

"How-how do you know?" She asked and then just as quickly she said, " I don't believe you!"

"Fine," he shrugged, wiping an old tear from his cheek. "Go ask Beastie, see what he has to say about it."

Belle burst from the room, and headed back toward the Ballroom. She found The Beast standing on the balcony.

"I need to see my father, I think he's in trouble," Belle said.

"He'll be okay," The Beast said.

"What, what are you talking about?" Belle asked.

"I've seen him in my mirror, he's just in a cell, it won't kill him," The Beast said. Belle raised her eyebrow. This didn't sound like The Beast she knew.

"I'd just like to see him, I'm so worried about him. He's old, and sometimes can come off a little….eccentric. I need to make sure he's okay."

"I've seen him, Belle, he's fine," said Beast gruffly.

"I just-"

"Later, I promise, but I have something to tell you about the curse," The Beast said, distracting her for a moment.

"Oh, okay," Belle said, willing to let this go for the moment. The Beast had said he was okay, so maybe she could leave this alone if it could save everyone she'd learned to love.

"I need to show you something in the West Wing," The Beast said, gently taking her small hand in his.

He led her up the stairs as her heart pounded. She almost tripped over her long skirts a couple times, but he dragged her along quickly. She followed as well as she could. Finally, they were in the dark mysterious room that held the Rose. It had one petal left, barely clinging to the stem.

"It's almost dead," Belle said sympathetically.

"I know, but there's an easy way to save us, to make it stop," The Beast said eagerly.

"What is it? Tell me?" Belle said urgently, squeezing The Beasts' hands.

"Just tell me, tell me you love me," The Beast said under his breath


	5. The Rose, The Wand, and Ron

Belle was taken aback, she had not expected this response at all.

"That's all, just tell me," He said. The way the light was cast on him, his eyes looked hungry and terrifying. Belle hadn't seen them look like that in a while. She hesitated a moment.

"Say it," He said a little more forcefully.

"Tut, tut, tut," Belle heard a voice from the shadows. Ron pushed himself off the wall, a cruel smirk on his face.

"This isn't how the story goes, what are you doing?" Ron asked.

"Didn't feel like almost dying," The Beast said plainly, narrowing his eyes at Ron. "Just because I've done it so many times, doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

"What?" Belle said in utter confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It's none of your concern," The Beast said unkindly, and Belle frowned.

"How did you even get here? The magic doesn't allow anyone to affect the story," The Beast said.

"I paid a visit to someone you may know," Ron grinned ear to ear.

"No," growled The Beast.

"Yes, I know exactly what I have to do, and I-"

"I'll tear you apart!" growled The Beast. He charged at Ron, and suddenly all the boy's bravado, and courage was gone. His face went completely pale, and he just barely dodged the attack.

"Stop!" Belle demanded, but neither paid her any mind. The Beast swiped at Ron, leaving bloody trails across his cheek. Ron hissed in pain, but pointed his wand at The Beast.

"Stupify!" shouted Ron, but The Beasts thick hide made the spell bounce off. The Beast moved a little stiffly, but other than that, he was unaffected.

"Shit!" Ron cursed, running for the corner he'd been previous standing in to avoid The Beast. He jumped on his broom, which was waiting, and began raining spells down on The Beast. Most did not affect the monster. Belle was too stunned to even know what to do. Though Ron's face was dripping blood, the cuts were shallow, so neither of them were too hurt. She didn't know if she should intervene, or even if she'd be able to intervene.

"Sectumsempra!" Ron screamed hoarsley, and this one finally took. Slashes appeared on The Beast's body. He fell to the floor. Ron came to the ground panting, just as Belle screamed.

"Beast!" She yelled running toward him.

"Hermione don't!" Ron screamed, and pushed her out of the way just in time, as a foot came from nowhere, and hit Ron square in the chest. He couldn't breath, he looked like he was about to be sick. The Beast crawled toward him, looking, for the first time to Belle, like a real wild animal. He bit down on Ron's shoulder, and Ron screamed. When The Beast lifted his mouth, it was red, like when lions are fresh from the kill.

"C-Crucio!" Ron tried. The Beast twitched, but Ron wasn't strong enough to cast a full Crucio spell. However, the moment of pain the Beast had, gave Ron enough time to get up part way. The Beast's paw flew out at Ron's dangling, weak, arm. Ron's wand flew across the room.

"Bloody Hell," Ron said dismally. The Beast laughed maniacally. Ron thought fast, he pulled an ornate sword from the wall, holding it in his good hand. With nothing to lose, he stabbed toward the hulking creature. The sword stuck in The Beast's eye.

The Beast screamed horribly, holding his eye and stepping back. He tripped over something, falling backward, hard onto the floor. Ron stood over him with the sword, and an uncertain expression. Obviously, this monster would stop at nothing to win, a sword was not much help. However, if he could make him lose enough blood, he might be down long enough for Ron to grab his wand.

"Belle," The Beast heaved.

"Beast!" Belle began to run over.

"Don't you dare!" Ron said, turning towards Belle with the sword.

"Don't come near him!" Ron demanded, but in a moment a huge paw ripped down the span of Ron's back. Ron's eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell in a bloody heap on the floor. Belle cried out in shock.

"Belle," The Beast said in a deep, almost frightening voice.

"Yes?" She asked, waiting for instruction.

"You need to tell me, you love me," He said, advancing toward her. Belle backed away, she didn't like the look in his eyes. She thought she trusted him implicitly, but he was terrifying in this moment. His normal clothes ripped and ragged, covered in blood. One of his eyes was no longer there, just a black, gorey, hole. His other looked pure evil, almost red, like a feral thing. He seemed to be foaming at the mouth, and she could see strips of Ron's skin on the Beast's claws.

"Belle, say it!" He ordered, backing her up further until she hit the table housing the rose.

"I-" Belle began.

"The Rose," Ron choked out, and they sounded close to his last words.

"I lov-"

"The Rose, there's a stick in there, take it out," Ron shuddered.

"Quiet you!" barked the Beast. For some reason Belle felt compelled to look in the Rose's case. Holding up the wilting flower was indeed, an intricate stick, looking similar to the one Ron had, but more detailed.

"Belle!" roared The Beast. "Say it!"

Belle made her decision quickly, without taking time to think about it, which was odd for her. She removed the Rose's lid, hearing the angry growl of The Beast behind her, knowing she only had seconds. She snatched the piece of wood. As soon as her fingers touched it, she fell to the ground.

It all came back like a wave crashing over her. Her parents, Hogwarts, her books, Crookshanks, her wand, her magic, Harry, and Ron. Sweet, brave, Ron, who had tried to tell her.

She stood back up shakily.

"Belle, it's okay, we still have time, the petal didn't fall. Tell me you-"

"My name," she said flicking the wand toward him. "Is Hermione Jean Granger!" she shouted those words, quickly followed by "Confringo!"

The Beast shot back, the blasting curse creating a small explosion that knocked him against the castle wall. He slumped down. Hermione thought he was down for the count, and tried to get to Ron, but surprisingly, The Beast rose again, his hide was really protecting him.

Suddenly, a great clanging was heard. Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, Cogworth, and a barrage of other furniture were in the room. Mrs. Potts poured steaming water on him, while Lumiere burned his feet. Hermione was too stunned to do anything as The Beast's servants attacked him. Knives slashed at him, forks clustered together to delve into his good eye. Cogworth was tying his feet and legs together with thick rope.

Since the servants looked like they were handing everything quite well, Hermione dashed over to Ron. She bent down beside him. He was thrashing in pain, and moaning. She felt tears grow in her eyes.

"Ron," she said, touching his hot face with her cold hands. She realized she was kneeling in a rather large puddle of blood, coming from Ron's back.

"Hermione," He whispered barely opening his eyes.

Hermione saw her hands were slick with blood as she performed " _Tergeo_ " to clean off any dried blood, dirt, or other obtrusive things. She was horrified when his cuts immediately swelled with blood again, it was too much, it wasn't clotting.

"Oh, Ron, I don't have anything with me to stop this," she sobbed. "I don't have my Essence of Dittany. Oh, I'm so stupid, why would I run away with no healing potions!"

"You're not stupid, you are the most brilliant witch I know," Ron groaned.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"S'okay, you were cursed," He said.

"You never gave up on me."

Ron shook his head with a slight smile as if to say 'I could never give up on you'.

"I'm going to go get help," Hermione said.

"No," Ron said, pulling her back as well as he could.

"Come back."

"I'll never leave you again, if that's what you want," she said tearfully. "This is all my fault, if only I'd believed you sooner."

"I don't think you were able to, damn it, I should have asked Harry what the afterlife is like."

"Don't talk like that, we're together now, everything's going to be okay," Hermione said, but she was too practical to even believe it herself. Ron was on the brink of death, and she could barely see through her tears.

"At least, I got to see you, one last time," Ron said, through laboured breaths, reaching up to touch her hair. It had come undone from it's previous updo, and now was just as fizzy and loose as it had been in their Hogwart's days.

His hand began to slip from her hair, and she watched as his eyes rolled back into his head.

"No!" She sobbed.

"No, please come back," She was screaming, clutching his blood soaked robes.

"No, please, don't leave me," She begged.

"Ron, I love you," She said, and laid over him, wracking with powerful, gut wrenching sobs.

She didn't see this, but just before she'd said those words to Ron, the last petal fell. The servants began to turn into stationary, regular, furniture. The Beast, took his last breath.

As Hermione wept, a strange thing began to happen. Everything began to glow with a golden light. She moved back, because it all seemed to be coming from Ron, and it was too bright for her eyes to take. Ron began to levitate into the air. As he rose, his shirt, which was practically rags anyway, fell away. His cheek sealed up, leaving unmarked freckled skin. Any left over grime fell from his skin and hair fell away, leaving him with bright orange, silken, locks. His shoulder, which had been hanging at an odd angle, and looked like a piece of meat gorged on by a wild animal, was covered by fresh, pale, skin. In the air, he rotated, and line by line, the deep welts in his back were sewn up, and not even a scar was left. The bruise on his chest, the shape and size of The Beasts foot, crept from black, to blue, to cream, to its final stage, ivory. Hermione could see movements in his abdomen where his ribs were re-aligning themselves. He was healing.

He slowly landed back down on the stone floor, in a new white shirt and pants. He looked at himself as he'd never seen his own body before. A goofy smile covered his face.

"Merlin's Beard!" He gawked. Hermione couldn't help but laugh, as she rushed toward him.

"Ron!" She crowed as she threw her arms around him. She kissed his face over and over before her lips landed on his mouth. She could feel him beaming under her lips. She had never been so happy in her entire life.

"You're alive, thank God, you're alive, I don't know what I'd do without you," She said through tears.

"Snog an animal apparently," he chuckled.

"You're awful," she hit his chest lightly, and kissed him again.

"'Mione, I'm sorry I was too stupid and scared to tell you how I felt, I was just overwhelmed, but I want you to know I love you, and I want to be with you forever. I never want to leave you again."

"I love you too," she said, and kissed him.

"Excuse me," someone tapped Hermione. It was a man who looked young, and yet ancient at the same time. He was thin, and tall, and blonde, and bore some resemblance to Lumiere. His eyes were so tired, with bags upon bags clinging to them. He looked fragile, and hunched with exhaustion.

"Thank you," he sounded like the words cost him his last reserves of strength. Behind him stood the human versions of all the friends Hermione had made. Mrs Potts, Cogsworth, Fifi, and all the others. Every single one looked so weak that they could barely stand for another minute. Even little chip had the darkest of circles under his eyes.

"We can never thank you enough," Cogsworth said. Then, they all began to disintegrate, turning into golden sand, and falling to the floor.

"No!" Hermione shouted, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. She grabbed at chip, but he slipped through her hands. The last thing she saw of him, was a relaxed smile on his face.

"What's going on?" Hermione cried out.

"I think I can explain that," a deep, enchanting voice spoke. Before Hermione and Ron stood a very tall woman. She had waist-length blonde curls, deep emerald eyes, and a forest green gown on her slim figure.

"You did it," She smiled with thin lips at Ron.


	6. Tale As Old As Time

**A/N: So this chapter gets a bit dark and also confusing. I hope I wrote it out thoroughly enough so everyone could understand. I know J.K. hasn't completely revealed that killing a person and consuming the body is how Horcruxes are made, but I always thought it made sense. I added into this story. I know a lot of this story invloves magic we don't hear about in the original HP series, like time loops, and other stuff, but this is an AU, so I took some liberties.**

 **Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, or Beauty and the Beast.**

"I think you could say she did it," Ron gestured to Hermione.

"What happened to my friends?" Hermione asked, tears falling on her cheeks.

"A long, long time ago, in the time of kings, queens, and knights, a King lived in this castle named Adam. Adam had a cruel father, and he turned out equally as cruel. But don't let what his servants said fool you, he was very purposefully cruel, it was not all his father's doing. He tortured his servants, gave them very little pay, he terrorized the small village in his land. He was awful. His father died, and he became sole ruler, and if possible, things got even worse. Adam was a very talented Wizard, and used his powers only for dark, and evil things. However, he fell in love with a girl, her name was Belle. He kidnapped her, bringing her to the castle, and basically tried to force her to love him. When his normal charms didn't work, he began dosing her with love potion. In town, there was a man who had loved her as well, but he was also hardened and cruel. He organized a mob to save Belle, and to finally kill their tyrannical ruler. Meanwhile, her father travelled a long way to come see me. I was known to be a very strong enchantress, though I was young. He implored me to save his daughter, who he loved above anyone in the world. I agreed to come, not only to save his Belle, but to deal with the intense misuse of magic happening in the kingdom. I admit my solution wasn't very mature. He made me so angry, that I used dark magic against him. I cursed him to be a Beast until someone could learn to love him. I thought I was clever, but being from a very old magic family, he had items at his disposal that I had not expected. He used a time turner to turn back the hours, so he could attack me before I cursed him. Though he was powerful, he was stupid. In the fight, a spell hit the time turner that locked us in a time loop."

"A time loop," Hermione asked, and Ron was surprised this was the first time she had interrupted.

"Time loops were created from mixing certain spells with the Time Turners. Of course, there is also the scenario in which you see your future self, and kill them, therefore ending your own existence, but that isn't what happened here.

"What happens in a time loop?" asked Ron.

"Well, this particular one was tricky," said the enchantress. "It was what I call a 'Black Hole Time Loop', which basically means it exists in a bubble, that no one can effect, but people from the outside can be sucked into it. We were forced to live the same story over and over, but since I apparated Belle out of the castle the moment I found her, then came back, she was no longer a part of the story. The time loop needed that character to function. So, each member of this poor castle, and the village as well, were forced to live in a three-second loop. Imagine doing the same task over and over for years. Mothers in the middle of birth, had to feel that pain for decades. The band playing in town belted the same note till their throats bled. The violinist's arm shook with weariness. The cook's face grew red and boiled from the hot stove she was forced to open a million times. That is, until a girl was unfortunate enough to wander through these lands. They'd feel a strange pull toward the magic, and get stuck in the loop. Then the story would begin again. The girl would believe her name was Belle, and everyone would be forced to go through the motions of a story they hadn't even wanted to be in the first time around. I had told the Beast that the rose was his time limit, a petal dropped for every century. It was meant to scare him, to show him just how long he would have to suffer, but he didn't mind it, it seems. At the end of each run of the loop, he'd try to force the girl to admit their love, and because they were part of the story, they would say they did, but because it was part of the story, and they only loved him because of the love potion he fed them, it didn't count. At first he killed them out of spite, giving into his beastly ways, killing them with a swipe of his claws, but eventually he began experimenting. He used a form of dark magic, Horcruxes-"

"Horcruxes!" Hermione exclaimed.

"We've had a lot of experience with those," Ron commented darkly.

"Well, the way you create one is to kill someone, and then….and then, eat them," The Sorceress said, looking ill. Hermione felt as though she might throw up.

"That is bloody disgusting!" Ron said.

"In the small amount of time before the loop reset, with the girl as its eternal Belle, he would use the imperius curse to force the girl to kill a mob member, and eat them, and use himself as the Horcrux vesel. He'd then use the killing curse on them."

"B-but that's the point of a Horcrux, you can't die," Hermione said in a small voice.

"I know, in one of these rooms is a pile of half alive girls, wishing for the release of death, because they are living without half their soul."

"Couldn't you do something," Hermione squeaked.

"Alas, I was stuck in his stupid loop as well. Though, I had more autonomy. I could do as I pleased, but I couldn't leave this realm, and I stayed young forever. It was a horrible life, to watch this tragedy over and over again, but as your red-haired friend knows, you can't intervene with the story."

"Damn right, I nearly got blasted to bits when I tried to save you from those wolves," Ron said grumpily.

"But you did use magic, you used _Levicorpus_ on the Beast, to get him on the horse," Hermione remembered.

"Ah, yes, but you see, in the original, the Beast makes it back to the castle alive, with the help of Belle. So, your friend's actions matched the story, and it was deemed permissible under the magic."

"So, I don't understand, how was Ron able to come here at all, and why did the Beast want those souls?"

"Well, he thought that if he had more souls, he'd become more powerful. Remember, he was relying on an archaic knowledge of magic, he didn't have any basis for this theory, but he had to do something."

"If he hadn't killed the girls, what would have happened?" asked Ron.

"They would have lived this story over and over until someone broke the curse. However, since he all but killed them, they couldn't be used as Belle, and the three second loop would reinstate, until the next girl was sucked into the story."

"So, his servants could do nothing as well, they were forced to follow?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, but I pitied them, and instated a loophole in my original curse. They caught on to my loophole before he did. I had made it so that if he learned to truly love himself as a Beast, which would mean learning what love is, and becoming less prideful, he'd be able to turn back. His servants begged him to consider working on this, but he always refused."

"Oh, those poor people," Hermione muttered.

"How did they get turned into furniture?" asked Ron curiously.

"Unfortunately, they already were when I arrived, he'd cursed them all himself, because he didn't like when they wanted to stop feeding the first Belle the love potion. He said he'd turn them back when they learned they were like mere objects to him, meant to be seen and not heard."

"Now, how did Ron ever find me if the magic in this place is so deep," Hermione asked.

"He came into our forest shouting your name. He was screaming and crying, flicking some odd light on and off, and his light thing, he called it a deluminator, led him to me. Now, I probably looked like a ghost to him, but I used all my strength to contact him. No one ever came looking for the girls that went missing. I told him if he'd trade places with me he'd find you. The story needed a strong wizard, but it didn't care about the gender. So after I warned him he wouldn't be able to get out unless he convinced you of who you were, and you killed The Beast, he could never come out. He was certain he'd be able to save you, so he sacrificed himself. He was in, I was out."

"Ron," Hermione said, entwinging her hand with his. Ron was smiling like a school boy who'd gotten a sugary treat.

"However, since he'd taken the place of me in the story, he still couldn't really affect it. He couldn't help save you, because The Beast had to do that, he couldn't make you want to escape, because the real Belle hadn't. Usually, in the story, Belle tries to save her father, but a mob comes to the castle, and almost kills The Beast, and then the girl admits she loves him. However, cracks in the story were already happening because of Ron, and that little bit of difference made it possible for The Beast to skip the mob bit of the story. He was sure you'd be the one to break his spell, you are a very strong witch afterall. Ron came looking for me, using his magic to make me see him. I hadn't been able to leave the forest, realizing if I got too far from the magic of the loop, I'd age in seconds and turn to dust. So, when Ron called, I answered. I told him that most of the girls who came into this story were muggles, but Hermione was a Witch, which meant she probably had a wand with her. If she touched the wand, a solid object that meant a lot to her in her real life, it was a possibility she'd remember."

"Your magic always did mean a lot to you," Ron said with a grin, and Hermione squeezed his hand.

"You were strong, and he was already breaking into part of your mind, bringing you back to reality. All magic has a counter, except _Avada Kedavra_ , of course, and your love was the counter to this curse. You told her how to remember, and when she took action against the Beast, it broke the time loop for good. His servants were all able to come and bind him, like they'd always wanted to do. The last petal fell, sending with it, the revitalizing spell because it had sensed a true declaration of love. The spell reached him too unfortunately."

She pointed over to the corner. Bound up and gagged was a cruel looking man, his face contorted in a sneer, which was all the moving he could do. His servants had bound him well. His eyes were icey blue, with shoulder length blonde hair, and a sharp nose. All his wounds were gone, and it was easy to see the furious Beast in his human face.

"What will you do with him?" Hermione asked.

"Ah, as soon as you leave, we'll all be dust," The Witch said, but a smile lingered on her face, as though she'd welcome death.

"Is that what happened to them," Hermione gestured to the golden dust.

"Yes, but don't pity them, they are finally free. Free from the pain of repetition, free from the guilt of having to sit idly by as people die, free from the cruel things he did to them. They're happy."

"It isn't fair that I got my happy ending, and they didn't," Hermione said somberly.

"My dear, there were many petals on that rose when I gave it to Adam. He has had centuries to give them a happy ending, it wasn't going to happen. This was the best they could have gotten under the circumstances," She said sadly.

"Are there more places like this?" Ron asked.

"I doubt it, this is a special case," The Enchantress replied. "Now get along, I'm so very tired."

"Come on Hermione, let's go home," Ron said. He took her hand and they apparated to the burrow.

Left behind, the Enchantress turned to Adam. His eyes were red with anger, and frustrated tears. Snot poured from his nose as he pitied himself.

"You deserved it," The Enchantress said with a small smile, and bent her head back, letting the sun hit her. As it did, she turned to golden dust, blowing in the wind. The town became as dilapidated as a centuries old town should. The castle fell apart, and everywhere were piles of golden dust instead of skeletons.

However, Hermione and Ron, lived happily ever after.


End file.
